Manitoba Ultra-Endurance Racing and Talking Organization

CHALLENGE #5 NEEDS YOU!

This time around we need your help to build a challenge. How does this work? Well, the challenge is based on two parts, part one which is where you tell us about a ride you did in southeastern Manitoba, and and part two where you build your own challenge based on those contributions.

Get out and explore Manitoba on your bike and then tell us about your adventure. Go to the Challenges page and select a challenge. When you are ready declare your start, pack up you bike, get the camera ready and head out; let us know when you are done and we’ll set up so you can share your adventure with the rest of us.

Authors note: Before I begin my report I need to say something. I have no idea how people like Hal, Peter, and others are part of the same species as me. The fact that they do this challenge in three days when I could barely finish in a week is almost impossible to comprehend.

Day one

Being a resident of Morden I was lucky in terms of packing and getting ready. The morning of June 24 I set out from my house, stopped in at Tims and set off south.

My route was created in an odd way, backward but doing checkpoint 1 on the first day then heading north, and while I certainly added KMs to my final tally I felt it was the smartest for myself. First off the climb in and out of the valley just north of the Pembina Valley checkpoint sucks. There is no other way to describe it because you are either grinding up the steep side or grinding up the long grueling other side. With first day fresh legs, I preferred to just get it out of the way instead of facing it on the last part of the last day.

If I only had to sum up Challenge # 4 in 10 words or less, that is what I would say: “Just start off and then the adventure carries you away.” That is really all I needed to do. You see, the beginning of July was when I started to think about an Operacion Muerto Challenge. Many nights, after I would go to bed, I would lie awake thinking about it. The glow of my iPad would frustrate my husband as I mapped out my route. I thought about my lack of gear and what I would need. Then there were the “what ifs”, so many “what ifs” and also the reality of having to do this ride solo. I somehow worked through all of this and on the morning of Monday, August 7, 2017 it was go time.

My gear was packed sitting on the garage floor waiting for me. My kids were leaving for a week long road trip to Mount Rushmore with my parents. My kind loving husband who said there was no way in hell he was doing this bike trip, chose to go to work, instead of joining me. The plan was to leave at 9 am but instead doubt overtook me and I began talking myself out of doing it. Finally after two hours of sitting on my comfy green chair flip flopping about going or not going, Dan told me to shit or get off the pot. He told me I would regret not at least trying. He assured me that I could physically do it and that my determination, drive and stubbornness would not allow me to quit. He loaded my mountain bike into the car as I put all my gear in and off I went. Thanks Dan for giving me the push I needed.

I hadn’t planned on doing the summer challenge. At least not that week. I was just going to explore. But when a friend pointed out that the route I was planning on taking passed by all the of the checkpoints it was clear that it was fate. So after some fiddling with the route to bring me in line with the rules I declared, packed up my bike and set out.

I was doing a few things differently from others who had done challenge 4. The first was that I was starting and ending in Winnipeg, and simply passing through Beausejour twice. The second was that I was taking 5 days to do it and wasn’t terribly concerned with taking the most direct route possible, but lastly, I was doing Patricia Beach first and Ancient Mountains last.

I left Winnipeg on the morning of Victoria Day, it was cold and overcast. I left the city on 59 north, jumped onto the floodway trail, cut through Birds Hill Park and started my way west towards Beausejour. Continue reading “Challenge 4 plus a bit extra”→

Note: I apologize in advance for the horrible photos. I have learnt my lesson.

August 20th. It’s just after 7:00 am. We’re parked in the Tim Horton’s lot in Morden (the starting point of our challenge) and all I can think to myself is “What the heck am I doing here?” No, I wasn’t kidnapped by the guys and forced to a death march. I had voluntarily signed up and was really excited to complete this challenge. I have run distances further than this before, I knew that I could do it. To understand the reasons why I was having second thoughts on completing the challenge we’ll have to travel back in time! Continue reading “Challenge #3 on Foot”→